“When you’ve lived the life that I have, you should always expect something like that to crop up,” Lemmy Kilmister told Revolver in 2013 after revealing that a defibrillator had been implanted in his chest. “I was not a good boy. I’ve had too much fun.” If you ever got the opportunity to see Motörhead live, you’ll know that Lemmy really was having fun up there—real, piss-drunk, snarling fun.
To compare, here’s how Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee described Lemmy’s feelings about the band’s previously unreleased cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes,” which you can hear at the top of the page: “He was very, very proud of it not only because it turned out so well but because it was fun,” drummer Mikkey Dee said. “Which is what projects like this should be—fun.”
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The cover was recorded during sessions for the band’s final LP, Bad Magic, in 2015 and it’ll be released on a new Motörhead cover compilation, inevitably entitled Under Cöver. Their “Heroes” is more faithful to Bowie’s original than you’d expect, sticking with the same structure and melodies. It’s bigger, shinier, and more boisterous than the original—and Lemmy was never going to sound anything other than battered—but the heart of the song stays.
Under Cöver is out September 1.
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